


Off To War (1914-1919)

by sebastienlecopley



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: F/M, World War I
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:15:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25008295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sebastienlecopley/pseuds/sebastienlecopley
Summary: What if John went to war before his brothers, Arthur and Tommy? Leaving behind two children, a pregnant wife and family; he is sent to the barracks first before being deployed and sent to France in August 1914 with him being part of the 1st Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment. What happens when his brothers see him for the first time before they are deployed? And who else does he meet during his time in France . . .
Relationships: John Shelby/Martha Shelby
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Off To War (1914-1919)

**Author's Note:**

> This is a very short prologue, where we see John at the train station with his two children: Charlotte and George who I haven't mentioned by name in the chapter, he has two kids at this point. A one year old and a four year old. He is also aged up in this story to make the maths and that make more sense also to make sense of how he managed to have four children by the time the series began sometime in 1919.

Small Heath, Birmingham,  
3rd August 1914. 

Blue eyes stared at him as a lower lip trembled with it breaking John's heart more than anyone else in his family could understand except for his darling wife, Martha and perhaps his aunt, Polly. Charlotte was distraught the day he sat her down, explaining he was to go off to war one day then when he received the letter first instead of Arthur; he initially thought it had been a mistake as it couldn't have been real. 

An unexplainable error with Polly protesting adamantly about it after finding out — as she had gotten the letter shoved into her outstretched hand with her taking off in a storm of fury once she read the letter, not once but twice then she returned, saying nothing to any of them except for Ada and Finn. Rage rolled off her waves as it was palpable with her trying to keep it together until Finn was asleep before having berated John, Arthur and Tommy once more for daring to sign up. The silence from her had been unbearable, the anger and harsh words less so but it had been much better than when Martha found out as she threw a pot at his head then a glass and plate followed in quick succession which luckily he managed to dodge, having even dodged the pot that she tried to throw at his face. 

Now here he was, standing in his army uniform, hat in one hand and his little girl's hand in the other as he had been staring at a young couple, not as old as him and Martha when Charlotte kept tugging at his hand, trying to get his attention. It was as though someone shoved something down his throat, rendering him unable to speak as he looked back down, trying not to let his expression become crestfallen due to the look in his daughter's eyes and on her face. How her lip trembled, how the way her hand shook whilst holding his with a fierce grip for a four year old. 

"You can't go," Charlotte protests as she squeezed his hand tighter, trying not to burst into tears. She cried a lot when she saw him in the uniform for the first time, cried when Martha tried to put her hair up neatly and put her in a brand new, dark blue coloured dress that he just managed to afford for her, cried when Arthur tried to pick her up and stomped on Tommy's foot when he tried to rustle her hair. "Daddy..." She said as he let out a shaky breath, only to bend down and pick her up, trying to embrace her gently as he didn't feel as though he wanted to let her go just yet. 

"Please." 

Her voice reminded him of how Martha tried persuading him one final time the night before; having read through the letter and the instructions as he was going to be making his way to Shorncliffe Army Camp near Cheriton in Kent with him having been assigned to the 1st Battalion, 10th Brigade and 4th Division of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment with the 1st Battalion being stationed at Shorncliffe during the outbreak of war. It was why he was leaving before Arthur and Tommy were to leave. He could be in France before the end of the month; if not at the beginning of the following month, fighting on the Western Front without either of his two elder brothers beside him which weighed heavy in his heart. 

His wife was standing off to the side, close to Polly and Ada, hands firmly gripping the handles of a black pram, hiding a somewhat noticeable baby bump. She was in the early stages of pregnancy, their third child, as long as the child saw past birth with it making him feel worse as he knew that it was a very hard time, for all of them but especially for Martha who was raising a four year old, a one year old and expecting their third child. He tried to reassure her, tried to reassure Polly too that he would come back from the war intact, that it wouldn't be that long until they all saw each other again. 

"I'll be back by Christmas, I promise." John told her, hearing a faint mutter come from Ada's lips about making such a daring promise when neither Tommy or Arthur made any promise, not to Finn, not to their nephew or to their niece either. Their time was not up like his was as he was being sent to the barracks first then to await news on if he would be going over to the Front and when he would go if that was to be the case. "You can tell me all about what you and your brother get . . ." 

A whistle blew.


End file.
